Is it weird sitting in a driverless shuttle bus as it slowly drives you along a Melbourne road?

No. In fact it's almost unsettling how quickly normal it seems.

The Transdev shuttle humming through Albert Park on Sunday is already in full use in Europe, moving at a top speed of 40km/h.

If you've ever been a passenger in a bus or even in a theme park ride, the experience is similar.

There's an emergency stop button and an automated ramp that slides out when needed.

There's no magic to it - and that's kind of the point.

Every company executive in Melbourne for this week's 23rd World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems has stressed the need for safety, and most of the innovations are designed to reduce crashes, keep people alive and fit seamlessly into everyday life.

The Siemens car has next generation wi-fi technology, which talks to other cars, motorbikes and even sensors built into the road.

It can send real-time video from other cars and give drivers a walkie-talkie function to talk to each other nearby.

The car flags upcoming road works, crashes, hazards such as oil or ice and counts down until the traffic light turns green.

Police cars can use the wi-fi to change lights to green in an emergency.

It's the stuff of the future but not far away from being available for the mass market.

Some US cars released in 2017 will have the wi-fi technology, with European and Asian models following in 2018.

That means it won't be long before these magical new inventions become just another mundane part of commuting.